Alcatel will ship its Idol 4S with packaging that doubles as a VR headset

Alcatel has a new OneTouch-branded phone called the Idol 4S. It isn't too interesting by itself, but it's packaging is totally cool.

The 5.5-inch handset is one of the more premium handsets from Alcatel, as the phone comes with a quad HD AMOLED display, octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB storage (expandable via microSD), 16-megapixel main camera with a f2.0 aperture lens, and a 8-megapixel front-facing shooter equipped with a flash to boot. More interesting however is that this new phone can also power a VR experience.

The Idol 4S is being shipped in a hard plastic box that doubles as a Google Cardboard-certified VR headset. Google has licensed its Cardboard reference design to various manufacturers, allowing them to make and sell versions of the headset that work with apps designed specifically for Carboard. Alcatel's interesting packaging means Idol 4S can leverage those apps, making the phone's $400 price tag a little easier to swallow.

According to Venture Beat, the Idol 4S is scheduled to release in May. So, if you're in the market for a high-specc'd Alcatel phone as well as a budget virtual-reality experience, this device just might be the exact thing you need.